U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday signed a sweeping Russia sanctions bill into law, the White House said in a statement, paving the way for increased economic pressure on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
The measures target Russia‘s energy and defense industries, as well as its “shadow fleet” of tankers that evade existing sanctions, in order to deprive Moscow of funds used to pay for its war with Ukraine.
The legislation faced opposition from Democrats because it also authorizes Trump to impose stiff tariffs of up to 100% on China, India and other countries to reduce their dependence on Russian oil and gas, as well as to extend sanctions on Iran.
Critics argue that Trump already has the authority he needs to impose sanctions on Russia, but has chosen not to do so.
The bill, now called the “Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026,” to honor the South Carolina Republican who died in July, passed the House of Representatives on Wednesday and the Senate last month.
Graham, a longtime Russia hawk, was a staunch backer of the legislation.
The Kremlin said earlier this week that further U.S. sanctions against Russia would make it harder to reach a peace deal in Ukraine.
“We are, of course, monitoring the progress of this bill. It falls under the category of unfriendly actions, and of course the imposition of any additional sanctions by the U.S. would certainly complicate efforts to find a peace settlement in Ukraine,” spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
